The great majority of sailboats use capstan winches to control the sails and other various control lines on the boat. The gear driven capstan winches are typically manually operated by a person turning a lever arm crank, known as a “winch handle”. For safety reasons and to provide the ability to freely release a line from the capstan winch, it is necessary to remove the winch handle when not in use. This means the winch handle is typically engaged to a top socket of the winch every time the winch is used and is removed after every use. It is also desirable to sometimes leave the winch handle in the top socket for a short period of time in case a sail adjustment is anticipated.
As is well known to a skilled artisan, a winch handle that is not latched into the top socket of the capstan winch head properly poses safety hazards including injuries to the handler when it comes loose or dislodges from the top socket during use. Additionally, winches are often mounted on the side of a mast or bulkhead surface so the winch handle could fall out and be lost overboard if not properly latched.
Companies that manufacture capstan winches and winch handles have spent a great amount of time developing latching mechanisms to hold the winch handle in place. The most common type of winch handle latch involves a rotating plate that locks the handle to the winch head. The operator must move a lever arm to release the rotating latch. The release lever must be actuated to insert the handle into position and to remove the handle. Although designed to provide latching, sailors are often frustrated by the mechanism when trying to engage or disengage the latching handle during time sensitive sailing maneuvers or when racing against other sailboats.
Also commercially available is a ball and detent latch mechanism that is claimed to be easier and faster to operate. However, a latch and holding device that is less demanding or does not require the operator to operate to engage or disengage the winch handle would be more advantageous. Winches of this type are equally advantageous in other applications and industries that utilize rotary applications, particularly for such connections that allow for the transmission of torque while concurrently employing easy connect and/or disconnect means.